Idaho football welcomes in Jake Malek

Paul Petrino paced his entrance into the Kibbie Dome Wednesday afternoon with a similar steady, nonchalant walk he often takes onto the practice field.

Usually his head is down, and sometimes he goes over practice notes with assistant coaches while on his way to the middle of the field. Sometimes he revs into a slow jog toward the middle of the field.

But prior to the first spring practice of 2015 the third-year Idaho coach had a smile on his face while being accompanied onto the field by West Valley High’s Jace Malek.

Malek committed to Idaho prior to being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Petrino refused to pull his scholarship offer, and Malek signed his letter of intent in February.

Malek sported a blue bandana and rolled his wheelchair up and down the sidelines intently watching during Idaho’s intense 3-hour-long practice.

“It was nice (to have him here), that kind of puts everything in perspective to be honest with you,” Petrino said. “It was nice to have him here and everybody out here is saying prayers for him.”

Everyone from players like Quinton Bradley, to numerous coaches to athletic director Rob Spear took time out to converse with Idaho’s newest fullback.

“He was up in the hallway before our meetings and a whole bunch of people said hi to him and talked to him, I think everybody deeply cares about him,” Petrino said.

Malek had a front-row seat for Idaho’s latest quarterback battle, to be dueled between sophomore Matt Linehan and redshirt freshman Jake Luton.

Linehan took most snaps with the first team and protected the football while making throws outside of the pocket and making plays with his feet. Luton displayed a powerful arm, though he threw interceptions during team drills.

“I thought they both did some really good things and I think they both did some things they got to learn from,” Petrino said.

Linehan added 12 or 13 pounds over the offseason while spending time in Dallas where his father, former Idaho quarterback Scott Linehan, is the passing-game coordinator for the Cowboys.

How sharp the incumbent starting quarterback looked on Wednesday may be attributable to time spent over the winter at the Cowboys’ facilities getting first-hand advice from four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo.

The two worked one-on-one on a lot of things, although Linehan specifically took away one piece of advice.

“One play is not going to affect your future, he reiterated that to me. He said you’re throwing a route, you miss the pass, it doesn’t dictate what kind of quarterback you are,” Linehan said. “You use it, you embrace the coaching point, you move on and you get better. You get better at one thing every day, 365 days out of the year, the improvements, you’re just going to see results.”

Defensive players believe they won the day, however, after making like difficult for the two quarterbacks. Three new defensive coaches hit the practice field, including current volunteer but soon-to-be defensive coordinator Mike Breske.

The Vandals are instituting the 3-4 defense Breske ran while at Washington State, emphasizing pressure on the quarterback and pressing coverage on the outside.

“I like it, everything is a new start,” senior Bradley said. “We have a new defense, new coaches, new plays, everybody is learning.”